Author: Cobus van Staden
Dr. Cobus van Staden is an accomplished scholar, journalist, and think tank analyst with more than 20 years of experience in Africa and Asia. Previously, he was the senior China-Africa researcher at the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) in Johannesburg. Cobus completed his Ph.D. in Japanese studies and media studies at the University of Nagoya in Japan in 2008. He focused on comparisons of Chinese and Japanese public diplomacy in Africa during postdoctoral positions at the University of Stellenbosch and the SARCHI Chair on African Diplomacy and Foreign Policy at the University of Johannesburg before joining the Department of Media Studies at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2013. His academic research focused on media coverage of the China-Africa and Japan-Africa relationships, as well as the use of media in public diplomacy in the Global South.
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Letter From DC: Is Africa Holding Itself Back?
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China Prepares to Lead Expanded Shanghai Cooperation Organization
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Bangladesh PM Stretched Between India and China
Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will visit China from 8 to 11 July, the government announced on Monday. The announcement overlapped with a visit by Liu Jianchao, the Chinese Communist Party’s top official in charge of foreign liaison. "Bangladesh to us ...
Pakistan Announces Anti-Terrorism Campaign Amid Pressure From Beijing
The Pakistani government announced a military operation aimed at curbing violent terrorism. Dubbed Azm-e-Istehkam (‘Resolve for Stability’ in Urdu) the operation will likely focus on militants crossing from Afghanistan. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Sunday: “Ensuring protection and security of both ...
China’s Top Diplomat for Africa Appointed as Ambassador to South Africa
Wu Peng, China’s new ambassador-designate, arrived in South Africa on Monday. His appointment is the latest example of high-powered diplomats with continent-wide experience becoming the PRC’s envoys to Pretoria. Before he took up the ambassadorship, Wu was the Director-General of the ...
Sniping Between China and Philippines Following Ship Collision
Tensions in the South China Sea are high following Monday’s collision between a Chinese coast guard vessel and a Philippine supply ship. The details of the incident are still at issue. It’s the latest in a series of standoffs between China’s Coast ...
Graph of the Day: The Fall in Chinese Infrastructure Funding in Southeast Asia
A new report by the Australian research body the Lowy Institute maps a sharp decline in Chinese infrastructure funding to Southeast Asia, partly due to the COVID pandemic. However, the authors said "ongoing projects mean Beijing looks set to remain the dominant infrastructure financier in the region." ...
BRICS Foreign Ministers Decry Sanctions, Call for Gaza Ceasefire
Foreign ministers from the BRICS group, including the new member countries that joined the group of emerging powers last year, released a joint statement following their meeting in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod on Monday. The statement provided the first comprehensive ...
Philippine President Ramps Up Rhetoric as Local Attitudes Harden
The President of the Philippines, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., told soldiers to be ready for any conflict amid a potential overlap of his country’s tensions with China in the South China Sea and growing tensions between China and Taiwan. Speaking to troops at ...